In Vegas, no two bagels are alike

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, April 9, 2003 | 8:24 a.m.

Two years ago the Sun ran a bagel story where we talked about a few of the bagels sold in Las Vegas and how they differ in quality, variety and texture.

There has been much movement in the bagel world since, but these round, chewy breads remain solidly popular and a favorite with carbohydrate-loading fitness types. Today we provide an update with more information about bagels and where to buy them.

Paul Schloss, who owns the two Manhattan Bagel franchises in the Las Vegas Valley, both in Henderson at 1500 N. Green Valley Parkway and at 10100 S. Eastern Ave., is a typical small businessman, and hes passionate about his product.

Schloss bakes 22 varieties of bagels daily at his Green Valley store, and sells them for 75 cents apiece. A half-dozen costs $3.99, and a dozen costs $6.99.

The likeable Schloss has been in the bagel business for 11 years, and he knows a lot about his trade.

"All bagels have to be made with high gluten flour," he says, "which is why no one has yet perfected a soy flour bagel."

Manhattan bagels are made the traditional way first boiled, and then baked in a rotating six-shelf stone hearth oven approximately 8 to 10 minutes at 500 degrees. This gives a bagel its trademark chewy, crusty demeanor. The boiling activates the yeast and makes the dough denser, removing excess starch from the crust.

This is what gives a bagel its crunchy outside and soft interior. Among the large bagel chains, Manhattan stands out in terms of baking the most authentic New York-style bagel.

In nutritional terms, a typical Manhattan bagel ranges from a plain bagel's 260 calories and 52 grams of carbohydrates to 310 calories and 55 grams of carbohydrates for the sesame bagel. Specialty bagels, such as those covered with Asiago cheese, range slightly higher in calories.

Not everyone prefers the crusty style of bagel, which is why there are other styles on the market.

Einstein Brothers Bagels is another chain, and ironically it is owned by New World Restaurants, the same parent company that owns Noah's and which recently acquired the New York Bagel chain. There are eight Las Vegas locations for this chain.

An Einstein Brothers bagel isn't crusty like a Manhattan bagel, due to the fact that it is first steamed, rather than boiled, and finished in a baking pan, a process which results in the bagel being more like a bun than a traditional bagel. Einstein Brothers bagels are slightly less expensive than their Manhattan cousins, and the nutritional information also differs slightly.

They sell for 65 cents each, $3.29 per half dozen and $5.49 per dozen. Extensive nutritional information is available at einsteinbros.com, but suffice it to say that a typical Einstein Brothers bagel is larger than its Manhattan rival and ranges in calories from 320 to 410, and in carbohydrates from 70 to 90 grams per bagel.

There are approximately 20 varieties sold at Einstein Brothers, though availability varies.

Similar to the company it once absorbed, the successful chain Noah's, there is much to like about Einstein Brothers. Its line of shmears (the name used for a variety of flavored cream cheeses) are delicious, and so are the many types of cookies and pastries.

It's the bagels that aren't likely to score high marks with a purist.

Meanwhile over at Smith's, (multiple Las Vegas-area locations), the freshly baked bagels are two for $1 (there are also frozen bagels, such as the ones from Lender's, which cost $1.89 for six). These bagels come to the stores frozen from a central warehouse in Layton, Utah, and are proofed (steamed in something called a proofing box) and baked in individual stores.

These bagels are softer than those at Einstein Brothers, as they are baked in square metal pans, not baking screens, which makes the crust at least slightly crunchy. These bagels also have a lower high-gluten flour content than the those baked at the chains, and they average only 240 calories per bagel.

Among the 15 varieties sold are sunflower, sun-dried tomato, everything and jalapeno cheddar.

Other local markets also do a brisk bagel trade. The valley's three Trader Joe's markets (at 7575 W. Washington Ave., 2101 S. Decatur Blvd. and 2716 N. Green Valley Parkway in Henderson) sell a number of pre-packaged, nonfrozen bagels at six to a pack, ranging in price from $1.69 for plain and onion bagels to $2.49 for organic bagels such as sprouted wheat with cinnamon or sprouted wheat with granola.

Similar to their counterparts at Smith's, these are soft bagels, but they are slightly chewier than those typically sold in supermarkets. Nutritionally, they average around 300 calories apiece, and contain between 59 to 63 grams of carbohydrates.

All in all, these bagels are an excellent value, but remember to check the date on the package, as they harden over time.

Wild Oats Markets (517 N. Stephanie Road in Henderson and at 7250 Lake Mead Blvd.) sell individually wrapped bagels from industry giant Western Bagel for 69 cents each. These are dense, chewy bagels that are not at all crusty, and they come in the varieties: plain, onion, honey wheat, blueberry, sesame and cinnamon raisin.

The appeal is the individual, clear-plastic wrapping, but these aren't nearly as appealing as the nice, fresh bagels one can get in a chain or market.

Finally, we come to the Las Vegas bagel that those used to the true New York-style bagel tend to rate highest, namely those sold at Harrie's Bagel- mania, 855 E. Twain Ave.

What makes these bagels so chewy and crusty is that Harrie's bakes its bagels longer than, say, Schloss does at Manhattan Bagel. Harrie's bagels are 4 ounces, and they sell for 55 cents each ($6.60 per dozen), which is exactly 12 times the price of one. No fooling around here.

But come Tuesdays Harrie's bagels are only $3.25 a dozen, the steal of the century.